Education Reform Stocking Stuffers
Kids are out of school. Christmas is 5 days away. Nobody is writing about education now. It seems like just about everybody has packed it up to go on vacation until 2011. But you get one more post from me before the holidays steal the last bit of your attention away. And it could be […]
League Stands Up for Charters vs. Unfriendly Greeley, Pueblo School Boards
In the end-of-the-year holiday dash, it sure looks like the Colorado League of Charter Schools has been busy. Busy standing up against the anti-charter actions of a couple local school boards.
Two cases in point. The first is an op-ed League president Jim Griffin penned for the Greeley Tribune. It came out a couple days ago […]
Cast Your Votes for the Best and Worst K-12 Education Developments in 2010
What are the best and worst developments in K-12 education for 2010? You can chime in and make your selections on a poll sponsored by Education Next — based on a list released by Stanford University’s Koret Task Force on K-12 Education.
Ten items are available for you to rate either as one of the two […]
12/16/10
Newsletter December 16 2010
Traverse City (Mich.) Schools Open Door to Negotiations, Good Government
The Mackinac Institute for Public Policy’s Michael Van Beek — who is essentially the Michigan equivalent of my friends in the Education Policy Center — brought some interesting news to my attention with a recent posting:
The Traverse City Area Public School district is raising transparency to a new level by posting on its website the […]
AP Education Poll: Firing Bad Teachers Not Only Issue On Which Public Weighs In
Quick hit for today from The Associated Press, highlighting results from a new education survey:
An overwhelming majority of Americans are frustrated that it’s too difficult to get rid of bad teachers, while most also believe that teachers aren’t paid enough, a new poll shows.
The Associated Press-Stanford University poll found that 78 percent think it should […]
Best Wishes to Michelle Rhee & Indiana Leaders, Even If Selfish of Me to Say So
My mom and dad work with me a lot to help me be less selfish. The phrase “Me first” is kind of frowned upon in our household. Ok, I get that. But what about “Students first”? Here’s hoping that success follows both Michelle Rhee’s national education reform efforts and the pursuits of Indiana State School Superintendent Tony Bennett, even if it comes across as selfish for me to say so.
Most Voters Still Lowball the Amount of Money Funding K-12 Public Schools
Interesting results from a survey by the Foundation for Educational Choice came out recently, gauging opinions and understanding of education issues of voters in six different states: Alabama, Arkansas, Kansas, Mississippi, New Jersey and New York.
Taking a look at the full results (PDF) is fascinating. A few items about school choice jump out. Respondents in […]
Congrats to Colo. School Districts with Distinction, School Centers of Excellence
This morning, Colorado’s outgoing governor Bill Ritter formally recognized some schools and school districts for outstanding academic performance.
A couple observations, first about the school districts. As Ed News Colorado’s Nancy Mitchell explains and breaks down, there are five levels of rating districts can earn from the state’s Department of Education. Only 14 of 178 […]
Little Girl Tells Ms. Johnson, Colorado Teachers About Dec. 15 Refund Deadline
It’s not often I get to tell you about a kid cuter than little ol’ me. But credit goes to Lynn Bartels at the Denver Post for noting the real star of this great video — a video which explains how the Colorado Education Association automatically collects funds from members “to help influence elections” and […]
Two New Reports: Colorado Lawmakers Can Make K-12 Education More Productive
So you just got elected (or re-elected) to the Colorado state legislature. But it’s not as much fun as you thought, because they say there’s this big budget deficit that has to be made up. And that means some spending cuts, which won’t make you the most popular person with a lot of the interest […]
State Ed Board Chair Bob Schaffer Boldly Speaks for Parental, Not Federal, Power
Colorado is a truly interesting place when it comes to education reform. If you follow this blog at all, you know what I mean. But seriously, how many states have a State Board of Education chair who is such a bold spokesman for empowering students and parents rather than propping up politics and the current […]
